Improvement in horse-power machines



UNITED STATES BATENT OFFICE.

E. J. KEEP AND WV. H. BRIGGS, CF STCCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE-POWER MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 33,252, dated September10, 1861.

To @ZZ whom'it may concern:

Be it known that we, E. J. KEEP and lV. H. BRIGGS, both of Stockton, inthe county of San Joaquin and State of California, have invented a newand Improved Horse-Power Machine; and we do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had .to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification, in Which- Figure l is a transverse section through theimproved machine in the vertical plane indicated by red line m00 in Fig.2. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the complete machine.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

This invention is an improvement in machines for making the labor ofhorses available in operating thrashing and other machines where greatswiftness` of motion is desired.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use our invention, wewill proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A represents a rectangular frame, which is securelyrbraced and made verystrong and substantial and of a suitable size to contain and support thegearing which is employed to give motion to the main driving shaft orspindle B, from which motion is transmitted directly to the machine tobe putin operation.

C is a large wheel, which has bevel spurteeth ct around its bottom edgeand a double beveled flange d projecting out from the teeth, which restson the two beveled friction-wheels b b,havingtheirbearingsin blocks b bon each side of the frame A and directly opposite each other.

-C is the vertical axis or central shaft of wheel C,`which is stepped ina block c, and has its upper bearings in a stationary collar c', aroundwhich the wheel C revolves. The collar c is supported in its position onarms d d d d, which are bolted to the transverse bars A A of frame A.The wheel C turns on the friction-rollers b h and is held down` by thetwo friction-rollers e e, which roll on top of the annular flange a.These two roll- A and also keep it down in a horizontal position.

Arranged at equal distances apart around the circumference of wheel Cand secured to flange f are eyes jo p p 19, through which the levers Iare passed, to which the horses are hitched. The ends of levers Iiitinto sockets in the hub C2 of wheel C, as shown in Fig. l of thedrawings.

D D are two beveled pinion spur-wheels, which are keyed to thehorizontal shafts D D', which have their end bearings respectively inthe outer and inner bars of frame A. The aXes of these shafts are in thesame horizontal line, and theirl axes are at right angles to the axes ofthe friction-wheels b b. The teeth of spur-wheels D D engage with theteeth d on wheel C, and the shafts D D are rotated rapidly in oppositedirections when the wheel C is revolved. Cn the inner end of shaft D Dis keyed a large bevel spur-wheel E, and both of these wheels E E engagewith bevel-pinion g and give a rapid lrotary motion to the verticalshaft C', to

which this wheel g is keyed. This vertical shaft C has a largehorizontal bevel spurwheel G keyed to it below the lwheels E-E. Theteeth of this Wheel G engage with the teeth of a bevel pinion spur-wheelh on the horizontal driving-shaft B, which shaft has its bearings inblocks t' t" on the base part of frame A. On the outer end of shaft Bisfixed a coupling-box lo, to which a shaft may be readily connected forcommunicating motion `to athrashing or other machine to be operated bythe horse-power. The space between the two bearing-blocks t' il of shaftB will allow the pinioirwheel to be moved some distance toward the blockfi, so that a much larger wheel may be substituted for the wheel G, andthis wheel G may be moved upward some distance for substituting a largerpinion for the one lettered h.

Over the upper end of hub C2 and collar c fits a cap n, which is removedfor lubricating inside and outside of the collar and which preventsdust, &c., from getting into the journals.

To put this machine in operation, horses are hitched to the extremeouter ends of levers I and driven around in a circular path. This turnswheel C, which gives motion lto the pinions D D, their shafts D D", andthe bevel-Wheels E, which are keyed to the inner ends of shafts D D.These bevel-Wheels E E transmit a rapid rotary motion to the verticalcentral shaft C through wheel g, and shaft C turns the large horizontalbevel- Wheel G, which engages with and gives a very rapid motion to theshaft B through the pinion h. If itshould be found desirable to obtainmore power, the large Wheel G can be moved up and a large bevel-Wheelused instead of the wheel 7i, or, if greater speed is required, thewheel 7i can be moved out toward the block fi and a larger Wheel usedinstead of the Wheel G.

The stationary collar c serves as an upper bearing for the shaft C andkeeps this shaft in a steady position, and, it also serves as an axisaround which the wheel C turns.

It Will be observed that the wheel C has a very peculiar construction.`It is composed of a toothed ring a, beyond which projects a doublebeveled flange d and a vertical flange f, While connected with theseflanges and rising inwardly are a se ries of radial arms which unitecentrally in a hub C2, all the abovenamed parts being intended to becast in one piece of metal. This peculiar construction gives greatstrength to the master-Wheel, while it is also light in respect toWeight. The flange a serves io receive two sets of friction-wheels Z2 e,and the flange f serves as a support for the lever-sockets p.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure byLetters Patent, is-

l. The combination of the stationary hollow axis and journal c with the1naster-wheel C, hub C2, and shaft C', as herein shown and described.

2. The construction of the open-toothed E. J. KEEP. lV. H. BRIGGS.

Witnesses: Y

ALLEN LEE BOWERS, ELBERT WEEKEs.

